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UNCW Breaks Ground on "Veterans Hall"

Friday, January 19, 2018

A groundbreaking was held Thursday on the UNCW campus for a new building that will help the university educate future healthcare practitioners and scientists and enhance services for military-affiliated students.

“The building will empower UNCW to continue to enhance the way we educate tomorrow’s healthcare professionals,” Chancellor Sartarelli said. “Today sets in motion a new era of capital improvements to transform the university as our programs and services keep growing. It will also house resources that will allow us to expand support services to our military-affiliated students.”

The building's name honors many contributions of the military community. Seventy-five percent of the university’s students were veterans when the institution opened in 1947. Today, nearly 2,000 military-affiliated students are enrolled. UNCW has received numerous accolades for its commitment to quality educational programs for service members, veterans and their families.

The 145,000-square-foot facility will house existing degree programs in health and human services and provide the opportunity to develop new programs such as healthcare administration/analytics, speech language pathology and physician assistant studies. It will also include labs to support teaching, research and community engagement.

Veterans Hall will also be the new home of the College of Health and Human Services and will include laboratory and classroom space for several of the College of Arts and Sciences’ chemistry programs, including pharmaceutical science.

“This facility will be much more innovative than a typical classroom building with faculty and staff offices,” said CHHS dean Charles Hardy. “The structure has been designed to enable us to provide transformational experiences and engage with the larger community.”

The partnership between CHHS, CAS, and the Office of Military Affairs in this project is a prime example of interprofessional collaboration, Hardy added – an important value at UNCW.

“The importance of pharmaceutical science to our area cannot be overstated,” said CAS dean Aswani Volety. “On one level, the industry directly contributes to the economic vitality of the Cape Fear region; on another, it affects the health and well-being of individuals in our community and beyond.”

In March 2016, North Carolina voters approved the Connect NC Bond, providing the funding for Veterans Hall and other projects across the state. The new building is slated for completion in 2020.